Gastro888

You're welcome. I don't think Friday afternoon will be that bad. Chinatown's usually busy in the morning/early afternoon. People don't venture into Chinatown late at night to shop. Dinner & wedding banquets are the main reasons people go to Chinatown at night. You can always check out the afternoon specials at Egg Custard King. It's a set menu for an afternoon snack, Hong Kong teahouse style, aka Chinese diner. They have two locations - one on Mott and the other on Grand st. The Grand St. location is bigger and a bit cleaner. If you're lucky, you'll be there when fresh egg tarts are coming out of the oven. Good stuff. Their menu is in English but as with most Chinatown places, not many servers speak English well.

Not really...I've never been a habitual visitor...any suggestions? Doesn't have to be Chinese food...I would love some good Vietnamese! ← Depends on what you're looking for. Are you looking for a teahouse (chachanteng), congee, dim sum, wonton noodles, over rice dishes, roast duck, roast chicken, seafood, etc? Narrow down your desires and proceed from there. I would stick with Chinese, Malaysian or Viet food in Manhattan's Chinatown. For Northern Chinese food, visit Flushing. Actually when it comes to Chinese food, I find Flushing has better quality than Manhattan's Chinatown. Now if we could only get Mei Lai Wah to move out here, it would be perfect. (Hey, there's a thought - go check out the grumpy old men at Mei Lai Wah and get some yummy buns.) Remember, this Sunday is Chinese New Year and in the days leading up to it, Chinatown will be chock-a-block with families buying the necessary foods for the celebration. And I'll bet you on Sunday, it will be darn near impossible to find a spot in any dim sum house past 11am. Everyone's going to do the get together, gossip and once over with the extended families after they've done the visiting. (Or in lieu of visiting.)

re: Ferry Building. Go early on a Saturday to enjoy the farmer's market and the vendors. Go to Taylor's Refresher instead of the Slanted Door. You'd definitely get a tasty meal there. Or you could go to Mijita and get a wonderful fried fish taco. Just stick with the fish taco. Go to Miette and the chocolate shop down the way from Miette. And get a sausage on a stick at Golden Gate. With the dijonaise. Yum...

Ooooh, a fuzzy logic rice cooker. How lovely! Why are they called fuzzy logic? What IS fuzzy logic? I wish I could upgrade my rinky dink rice cooker for one. There's no warm function. =(

Not true. Many places do things from scratch because it's cheaper. Pre-made items are friggin' expensive. Things like egg roll & wonton skins are labor intensive so those are purchased (and they're relatively cheap) but everything in the back of most Chinese-American places aren't made from Sysco. The only thing that comes frozen in usually the shrimp, peas & carrot mix and scallops. ← That's fascinating! It's my understanding that the vast majority of chicken fingers, egg rolls, szechuan sauces, and the like served in C-A restaurants here in New England come prepared from New York City. Maybe my information is shoddy, though. Of what region of the US (or elsewhere) are you speaking? ← In terms of the type of restaurant, I'm talking about your classic Chinese-American carryout, not your urbanized Chinese American carryout that has non-Chinese items (ie: chicken fingers, fries, subs, apple pies, etc) on the menu. Your typical #1 combo with chicken chow mien, fried rice, egg roll and/or soup. I am speaking of the northeast region but I am pretty sure that most Chinese American restaurants do not purchase many pre-made items. Cost and pride would be a factor. Speaking of cost, notice that many carryout places are in relatively low rent areas. That makes for a lower overhead cost. It also makes for a more dangerous situation as well but that's why the Chinese cleaver's so multi-functional. I assume that most C-A places would rather buy those Western items because not many people order those items in relation to the Chinese items on the menu. So ordering a pack of chicken fingers makes more sense than prepping a whole chicken for say on average, one chicken finger order a day. Think about it, if you really wanted chicken fingers are you going to Popeye's or to the local C-A carryout? (Although I must admit there is this one C-A carryout that I go to for the Spanish-style fried chicken and plantains. Even the Latinos in the area say they make the best chicken and plantains compared to the Latin restaurants! It must be the soy sauce. ) Yes, it's true that historically immigrants are the ones who are more willing to take on the unattractive jobs and work for less wages. From the Irish to the Italians to the Chinese to the Vietnamese and all across the board. It's just the truth of the matter. PS: I wanted to add that volume is also key to profits at a C-A carryout. You might not make much on one order but if you're firing the woks all day and all night, you're gonna make money in the end.

I made braised doong goo last night. Well, I think I did. I'll post pictures tonight. I soaked the mushrooms while I was at work & when I got home, I trimmed them and strained the soaking liquid. I brought the liquid to a boil and added a bit of salt, mushroom soy sauce (I swear, I do use other types), oyster sauce and a pinch of white pepper along with a bit of scallion. The mushrooms were added and then they braised for 30 minutes. I did a cornstarch slurry and made a thick gravy and added cilantro. Which may have been a mistake. I dunno. I'll see later on. Chinese New Year's is next week! Chinese New Year's is next week! Chinese New Year's is next week! YAY! (BRING ON THE RED ENVELOPES!)

Not true. Many places do things from scratch because it's cheaper. Pre-made items are friggin' expensive. Things like egg roll & wonton skins are labor intensive so those are purchased (and they're relatively cheap) but everything in the back of most Chinese-American places aren't made from Sysco. The only thing that comes frozen in usually the shrimp, peas & carrot mix and scallops. The majority of restaurants have a bunch of "under the table" practices so it's not just the Chinese ones. Yes, being part of family operation saves on labor overhead. It's the whole, "You're going to work. Period." business philosophy, you know.

No, not catsup. I mean, you could use it in a pinch but you won't get the real (faux?) deal. Gotta be tomato paste. I'm not judging anyone's taste. Hell, I love the tartar sauce on a McD's filet o' fish and I always ask for extra when I order it. (Which is only once a year, I swear!)

No worries! We've all had our brain fart on us one time or another. Just follow the links and maybe you can find what you're looking for. If not & you're in the NYC area, take the 7 to Flushing and go fooding to reasearch what's what.

It was not Japanese, it's Korean style. Japanese have chicken karaage. Maybe rice flour or green bean flour is used instead? ETA: eGullet thread on Korean fried chicken.

Because it's the nectar that funded many a Chinese-American's college education!

ACK! NO APPLE JUICE! PINEAPPLE JUICE! Sorry. :-)

So do I need to cook it for 12 hours? (I have in total about 10 pieces of oxtail.) I wonder if I should add some liquid to the pot tonight. It's about 3/4 of the way full. Should I add more chicken broth or more tomatoes? I fear things might be going amiss....

I'll post a picture of the final product tomorrow night. Here's what I did: -Trimmed the excess fat off the tails -Blanced in boiling salted water for about 7 minutes -Drained the oxtail and the browned in hot oil. Removed from pan. -Sauteed minced garlic, onion, carrots & Chinese chives in oil -Seasoned w/ salt, pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning (I know...), allspice, and a bit of soy sauce -Added the oxtail -Added one can of chicken broth -Added one large can of crushed tomatoes -Simmered for two hours, removed the oxtail from the sauce -Blast chilled the oxtail and the sauce (ok, ok, I put it outside where it's 9 degrees) The dishes are in the fridge now waiting to be cooked again tomorrow. I didn't have enough time to simmer for four hours tonight so I decided to stop the cooking process and continue tomorrow. I used the crushed tomatoes b/c I wanted to try some hybrid Italian ragu/braise thing with the oxtails. Plus I know that a well made tomato based pasta sauce keeps on getting better the next day. Only problem is, how do I skim the fat from it? It seems harder with the tomatoes in the mix. Hopefully when I remove it from the fridge tomorrow, I can scoop off the excess fat. Anyone have any hints? Thanks for all your help!

Thanks for your help, everyone! All these hints are great! I just wish I had a crockpot. Shoot. So can I simmer on the stovetop and then move it to a low (275) oven to finish cooking the oxtails? Would 4 hours of cooking be good enough to make them tender? I plan on cooking it tonight, chilling them, defatting them and then reheating and simmering for an hour tomorrow for dinner.

Oh cool! Those look like recipes I could attempt. Daubes are too daunting, I'm sorry. I think you need a sous chef and a very large kitchen to accomplish all that loveliness. I think I might do a hybrid of the two recipes you sent me. I like the simplicty of the first recipe but I want to add more veggies. As for the lentil question - should I? Or should I leave well enough alone?

Bring hand sanitizer and handi-wipes for you and your kids. Plus carry scads of pocket tissues wherever you go. You could carry your own chopsticks with you (I'm sure you can find a cute little set in the kitchenware department of most Asian supermarkets).

How do you make shikhye from scratch? Is it that hard to do at home?

Yup. You always gotta add chunks of Dole pineapple. That fruitness rounds out the sweet, sour and hint of salt. Dole. Chilled. Chunks.

Yeah, it's in the States near Washington, D.C. Still doing quite well.

Thanks, snowangel. That looks like a very interesting recipe. Wow. And a very daunting one for me, too! I highly doubt I could pull that recipe off. Wow. I have a very small shoebox of a kitchen. Have you tried it? What does it taste like?

Thanks Gastro! Keep us informed won't you? :-). ← You're welcome I'll ask when I'm home for Chinese New Year. First, I need to get Dejah Jeh her gai loong recipe then I need to ask dad for S&S sauce recipe. Our restaurant's been around for over 25 years and we've had the classic Toisanese/Cantonese inspired Chinese American dishes. So if I ask my dad for the recipe, it's gonna be for the type of sauce one would find in the typical carryout say about 10 years ago. Now with the influx of Chinese immigrants from other areas of China the landscape of the Chinese carryout has definitely changed. When I was growing up, shrimp w/ lobster sauce was always, always, always, jumbo shrimp with ground pork and black bean sauce with a beaten egg topped with chopped scallions. Now you'll find the inspid (yes, dammnit, I said inspid) non-Cantonese verisons that have a WHITE sauce with PEAS and CARROTS? What the heck is THAT?!?!?! (Ok, so I'm biased... )

Hi everyone, I have about 3 lbs of oxtail that I am planning to cook on Sunday for Monday's dinner. I am not familar with cooking oxtail (eating it, not a problem ). The end product that I want to have is a tender, falling off the bone, well seasoned oxtail that has a ton of liquid/gravy/juice to sop up. I'll be adding garlic, celery, onions, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and lentils (should I add lentils?) seasoned w/ tomato paste & various spices & herbs from my kitchen. Which means I'll probably add some soy sauce, too! My questions thus far... -Should I blanch the oxtails prior to cooking? This is often done in Chinese cuisine. -Should I stew or braise? -Is chicken stock ok to use in the dish? Is there anything I should watch out for, things that I definitely should not do with oxtails? I know some cuts of meat are more forgiving than others and I don't know if this is one of them. Thanks for your help!

Could you describe this dish a bit more, please? I notice you're from West England and maybe there are some regional differences in the dishes there than over here. Where do you usually purchase the dish - in a restaurant or in a carryout? What do they look like & taste like? More information please so we can help you.

We used tomato paste at my family's restaurant. Not catsup. No food coloring. Sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, salt, cornstarch slurry. I'm sure there is something else but I can't think of it right now. Will ask my dad next time.